The Imperial Cave is graced with myriads of lovely objects. Darkness brooded over them for ages, as drip by drip and atom by atom they were formed into things that charm and shine in chambers whose walls are "clad in the beauty of a thousand stars." There are underground gullies terrible enough to be the home of Apollyon, with legions of goblins; and strangely radiant elfin palaces where Titania might be supposed to reign, and Robin Goodfellow carry on his frolicsome pranks. In the year 1879, when the cave-keeper (Mr. Wilson) discovered this magnificent series of caverns, he was lowered down a distance of 90 feet through Egyptian darkness. As this mode of access was neither cheerful nor easy, nor free from danger, he determined, if possible, to find a less inconvenient and perilous approach to the cave. After two years of patient investigation he accomplished his heart's desire. The orifice which has been converted into the present entrance was at first, for a distance of 19 feet, only 14 inches by 15 inches, but the curator worked his way through it, caterpillar fashion, with a light in one hand and a hammer in the other, knocking off the rough formation, and widening the aperture from time to time until he made communication free from difficulty. Throughout this splendid cave there are many places where similar efforts, accomplished with equal success, have added largely to the safety and convenience of visitors, who reap the fruits of the heroic work performed by the brave explorer, whose best years have been spent in rendering accessible to the public the marvellous beauties of the Jenolan Caves.
From the accommodation house the way to the Imperial Cave is through the Grand Arch, on the northern side of which, at the eastern end, are two wooden staircases. The first springs from the floor of the arch amidst immense blocks of stone irregularly disposed. It has 21 steps, and a handrail on each side. This terminates at the summit of a pile of limestone rocks, the uppermost of which forms a platform guarded by iron stanchions and a galvanised wire rope. From this platform there is another flight of 21 steps to the portico of the cave—a plain archway, the floor of which is 50 feet higher than the floor of the cave-house. The entrance is guarded by a light iron gate.
THE WOOL SHED AND THE GRAVEL PITS.
About 35 yards from the entrance to the Imperial Cave, northward, and thence about 30 yards east, is "The Wool Shed." The approach to it is narrow and low. In some places it has been formed by blasting, and in others by excavation through a red, sandy substance underneath the limestone. It widens as the Wool Shed is approached. In the floor is a hole going down to the former entrance to the cave, now closed by a stone wall. The Wool Shed is about 20 feet wide, 15 feet high, and 70 feet long. The formation over a large part of the walls and roof resembles the fleeces of sheep, hanging about and spreading over the shelving rocks in all directions. There is one pelt which suggests the "Golden Fleece" torn by Jason from the tree trunk in the poison wood guarded by the huge serpent spangled with bronze and gold, and which was soothed to slumber by the magic song of Orpheus. The surroundings are as strange as those of the lonely cave where dwelt Cheiron the Centaur, who taught the leader of the Argonauts "to wrestle and to box, and to hunt, and to play upon the harp." But perhaps, after all, it may be only an indifferent limestone representation of a fellmongering establishment. The woolly skins and scraps are mirrored on the retina. The impressions produced by the sense of vision depend not upon the optic nerve, but upon the imagination. Simply as a spectacle, however, the Wool Shed is curious and entertaining. The blocks of stone near to the base are for the most part plain, and the floor is broken and rugged.
Descending 12 steps, and passing through a tunnel five feet six inches by two feet, the visitor stands at the junction of the right and the left hand branches of the cave. Here formerly the passage was only 14 inches by 15 inches. The larger opening was made by blasting, and the material blown from the solid rock has been packed away in recesses at the side of the hall, which, at the junction of the two branches, widens out considerably, but does not present any specially interesting features. The right hand branch runs north-west, and the left hand branch runs south-west. Taking the south-west branch first, after travelling about 10 yards the visitor comes to "The Gravel Pits," which he reaches by ascending a mound with 13 steps. There are two pits of gravel. One of them is about 12 feet deep and the other about 15 feet. In the rocks overhead are bones distinctly visible, owing to the earthy matter having fallen away from them. Some of these bones are large. There are shelving rocks about six feet from the floor. The sides of one of the Gravel Pits are oblique, but the other pit, which is railed off, is round and perpendicular. It could hardly have been more symmetrical had it been made by a professional well-sinker. This spot, although perhaps uninteresting to a mere sight-seer, cannot fail to attract the attention of geologists. Ascending two flights of stairs with 14 steps each, the excursionist attains a height of about 40 feet above the Gravel Pits in a north-westerly direction. Between the two flights of steps the ground is sloping, and the walls hold a considerable portion of drift, the pebbles of which are large and tinged with oxide of iron. This passage leads to the Margherita Cave, and from it a tunnel branches off towards the "Architect's Studio." This is a very pretty vestibule, about 30 yards in length, and bearing south-east. At first it rises several feet by steps, and later on there is a descent of five steps through masses of stalactites, and past a beautiful pillar.
THE ARCHITECT'S STUDIO.
THE ARCHITECT'S STUDIO.
The height of the "Studio" is about 18 feet. This atelier is a marvel of beauty. There are in it two temples of the most lovely kind. Large masses of splendid stalactites hang from the roof. On the walls are columns profusely decorated with coral and tracery and bosses, and carvings which could be imitated only by the most cunning workmanship. Near the centre is a large stalactitic mass, most graceful in shape, with numerous appendages; and underneath appear several stalagmites. Some of them have been partially destroyed, but one, which touches the enormous mass of stalactites above, remains intact. Near to this is a splendid column, richly embellished. The walls are profusely adorned with elaborate configurations, which are supposed to represent architectural "studies," from which the cave derives its name. Most of the formation is white or light grey; but in some of the recesses there is rich colouring. Each chamber has its own distinctive attractions, and contains many objects which challenge special admiration. Massive grandeur is set off with the most delicate and fragile beauty. Stalagmites are not numerous here, but one about eight feet in height, and two inches in diameter at the base, tapers off gradually towards the roof until it becomes as attenuated as the thin end of a fishing-rod. The stalactitic formation hangs in ponderous grotesquely-shaped concretions, some of which extend from the roof nearly to the floor, and many of the stalactites which decorate the stalactitic formation are perfect in shape and purity. The choicest portions of the Architect's Studio are fenced off with galvanised wire rope on iron standards.